There was a lot to take away from the Washington Capitals’ 6-3 victory over the frightening Tampa Bay Lightning (the rhyme was intentional, unfortunately). An obvious takeaway from the game is the result.
A win over Tampa Bay is a feat which has not been accomplished by the Washington Capitals since Game 7 of the 2018 Eastern Conference Finals. A game which Washington won 4-0 en route to their first Stanley Cup. Another takeaway is the score of the game. Washington doubled-up on the best team in the NHL and put an impressive 6 goals past Vezina-favourite goaltender, Andrei Vasilevskiy. In addition, Washington outshot Tampa Bay 35-28 which is not an easy task by any means.
This win over Tampa was more than just a ‘good game’. It was a message to the rest of the league that the Capitals are fueling up for another long playoff run and will go through any opponent that tries to stand in their way. Everybody is playing like they have something to play for. That something they are playing for would be another Stanley Cup.
Braden Holtby has been the Braden Holtbeast of last year’s playoffs. He has a .938 save percentage and a GAA of of 1.82 over his last five outings and has made some big saves in high-danger zones. Holtby has zoned in and is playing very focused hockey and when Holtby plays focused hockey, there are very few goaltenders better than him in the NHL. This is a very positive sign for the Caps heading into what is hopefully a long postseason.
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Nicklas Backstrom recorded his 20th goal of the season to become the second active player to record at least four consecutive season with 20 goals and 50 assists (the other being Joe Thornton). This gives the Capitals a league-leading seven 20-goal scorers this season. If Backstrom is able to continue to score and pass the way everybody knows he can, he will be a dangerous player every time he steps on the ice.
Backstrom’s first goal wouldn’t have been possible without the primary assist from Tom Wilson, who has developed into a power forward who plays first-line minutes as well as special teams on the power play and penalty kill. Wilson’s 22 goals and 18 assists are career highs and he is still throwing heavy punches when he has to. Like when he fought Erik Cernak.
"Sit down, son!"-Tom Wilson to Erik Cernak, probably pic.twitter.com/ynKECoyRbJ
— NBC Sports Capitals (@NBCSCapitals) March 31, 2019
What most people will take away from this game, however, is that Alex Ovechkin netted his league-leading 50th and 51st goals of the season and recording his eighth 50-goal season in his career. Ovechkin is just one 50-goal season shy of tying the NHL record held by Wayne Gretzky and Mike Bossy, who both have nine 50-goal seasons each. As if that wasn’t enough, Ovechkin also passed Brendan Shanahan for 13th on the all time goals list in the NHL with his 657th (and then 658th soon after). Additionally, Ovechkin has now recorded multiple 50-goal seasons after his 30th birthday which has only been done by Phil Esposito (4x), Marcel Dionne (2x), Mario Lemieux (2x), and Bobby Hull (2x) respectively.
Okay, enough about Ovechkin and his milestones because this article will go on forever. Needless to say, Ovechkin is playing like he wants another Conn Smythe Trophy this postseason.
Washington’s defense is playing more securely which is more impressive when considering the loss of last season’s addition, Michal Kempny. Kempny has played on the top defensive line with John Carlson for most of the regular season. Washington lost Kempny’s services when he went down with an injury on March 20th in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Lightning. This has given Christian Djoos, who was a healthy scratch for 11 of the Caps last 12 games at the time, an opportunity to step onto the first defensive pairing with Carlson. This, with the addition of Nick Jensen on the backend, has provided Washington more defensive stability than they had earlier in the season.
Their penalty kill has also improved with the addition of forward, Carl Hagelin, who has fit in wonderfully within the Capitals’ roster. Hagelin’s speed and defensive style of play has helped the Caps where they needed it most. He has slid up and down the lineup seamlessly and has also provided some unexpected offense for Washington by contributing three goals, and seven assists in 17 games with the Capitals.
He had eight total points all season with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Los Angeles Kings prior to being traded to Washington on February 21st. Hagelin won two Stanley Cups with Pittsburgh, so his play improving at this point of the season is a sign that everybody is getting into playoff mode.
In a tight divisional race, every game is important for Washington. This is actually a good thing because it gives the Caps something to play for. In previous years, Washington was locked up with the President’s Trophy so early that they took it easy in the last stretch of the season and weren’t ready come playoff time. Last year, they were in a similar situation to the one they are in now. They did not have the pressure of being the best team in the league with sky-high expectations.
They had to compete right up until the end of the season and, as we all know, this proved to be very helpful in their path to the Stanley Cup. Washington looks like they are gearing up to go to war, and they don’t plan on coming out as losers. With the playoffs starting on April 10th, Washington and their fans should hold their heads higher than they have in previous years knowing that their team now has a reputation of winning in the postseason. Especially since they are playing like they are hungry to keep that reputation alive.